


Birthday

by Prism0467 (marley_station)



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Reality, Explicit Language, Flirting, Hot Springs & Onsen, Kissing, M/M, Nudity, One Shot, Shippuden Universe, Voyeurism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-10
Updated: 2013-02-10
Packaged: 2017-11-28 21:46:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/679210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marley_station/pseuds/Prism0467
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Neji hatches an elaborate plan to spend his birthday with Shikamaru.</p><p>For Neji's birthday 2011.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Birthday

**Author's Note:**

> **A/N** :This basically constitutes Neji-worship, in honor of his birthday. Happy birthday Neji! Oh! and this is Alternate Reality canonverse where Neji and Shikamaru are 20 and 18 respectively, Sarutobi Asuma still lives, and there is such a technique employed by the Nara Clan as the Shadow Cloaking jutsu.
> 
>  **Warning** : un-beta’d
> 
>  **Disclaimer** : I do not own _Naruto_ or anything associated to it beyond this fanfic.
> 
>  
> 
>  **NOTE: THIS WORK OF FANFICTION WAS ORIGINALLY POSTED TO ADULTFANFICTION.NET AND Y!GALLERY ON 3 JULY 2011**.

It was all Asuma-sensei’s fault.

Why the hell else would Shikamaru Nara be at an onsen, crouched behind a tall wooden fence, peeking through the pickets at Neji Hyuuga in the spring?  Shikamaru didn’t even  _do_  onsen.  No, he wasn’t shy, and certainly understood the need for shinobi to have a place they could go and decompress.  But for his money, onsen had a way of reducing even the best ninja to lust-addled degenerates; potential for the kind of trouble Shikamaru could side-step gladly.

Despite his reservation, Asuma-sensei had easily managed to convince the strategist to join him there, leading him to where they were  _supposed_  to soak together, and then disappearing.  Shikamaru went in search of him, but was stunned to find the quiet, imposing Hyuuga emerging from the bathing station instead, wearing nothing but a modesty towel.

Shikamaru’s jaw dropped.  Neji fucking Hyuuga, dripping wet from head to toe and out of that insult of a Hyuuga-clan shinobi uniform, was all sex and power in motion.  It oozed from every distinguished pore as he moved toward his destination, a small secluded spring nearby.

The Nara’s mind raced.  He’d never seen the elder shinobi in such a state of undress before.  He hadn’t figured the hyper-disciplined Neji he knew for the onsen-type either.   _Well, well_ …his lips came together in a smirk, pleased to have become privy to some little-known facet of the Hyuuga’s character.

 _Unless_ … his smirk abruptly faded.  Neji might be there on a mission.

Shikamaru’s brows furrowed slightly.  A mission, at an onsen.  It meant the target was likely to be older, perhaps the ring-leader of some criminal organization.

It also meant that Neji would probably need to employ a seduction technique.

Shikamaru gave that further consideration.  Neji, a seducer?  Well, yes.  When you got right down to it, the Hyuuga was virtue waiting to be claimed: youth, beauty, grace, and the bottomless, beguiling eyes of a deity from some ancient foreign text. 

But to claim it, you had to be smart, even if you were the target.  Neji was also one of the deadliest shinobi of the five great nations, a brilliant warrior born and bred.

Curiosity derailed Shikamaru’s search for his sensei.  He soon found himself employing ninja stealth to stalk the taijutsu master instead, taking cover behind the surrounding barrier as the other prepared to step into the heated pool. 

Neji stood with his back to the Nara, his head lowered.  Shikamaru watched silently as the Hyuuga then he raised his head, letting it fall back as that lithe body slowly reached heavenward in a stretch -- fingers extended, muscles flexed -- creating a lean, chiseled column of flesh.  Then he lowered his arms and those hands, those deceptively soft-looking hands, reached for the long, heavy column of thick, dark-brown hair partially plastered to his back and shoulders, pulling it away from his body before releasing it dramatically.  In a seamless gesture he reached for the towel covering his middle section and tugged it away, letting it drop to the ground beside his feet and revealing an artistic arrangement of back dimples, steely buttocks and long, muscled thighs.

Shikamaru watched in mute appreciation, one brow raised.  Neji was indeed a seducer, and a practiced one.  The Hokage had probably been assigning Neji to missions like that for a long time, something that hadn’t occurred to the Nara before now.  Frankly it was a challenge to imagine his comrade seducing anyone in that dubiously feminine getup he usually wore.  Seriously, wasn’t the brand on his forehead a humbling-enough reminder of his  _bunke_  status?

If this was a mission and Neji was being used as bait, then the target was as good as caught.

But what if this was a secret meeting between lovers?

Shikamaru had to wonder what kind of man could entice Neji Hyuuga away from his clan’s compound.  He imagined he’d be young, the Hyuuga’s age, or close to it; with more masculine appeal, less pretty (Neji had never struck Shikamaru as the narcissistic type).  He’d have to be very different from Neji,  _and_  able to out-think him,  _especially_  if he couldn’t best him in hand-to-hand.

Wow.  It seemed like a pretty tall order – a young, virile, good-looking sort who could out-clever Neji -- but anything less than that, the Nara mused, would be a shameful waste of the prodigy’s time.

Though now Shikamaru was even more curious.  In all his life, had he ever come across anyone like that?

As he pondered that thought, Neji stepped forward, down into the steaming water, and spun around slowly.   Dark nipples stood out against defined pectorals, and though distorted by water, a pleasing full-frontal image came into view.

The Hyuuga was pure temptation moving in the water, leaning his body back briefly to saturate his hair.  Penetrating, cloud-like eyes scanned his surroundings, looking directly at Shikamaru for a split second, and then moving on as if the man had not been detected.

 _Shit_ , Shikamaru thought to himself.  There was no hint of recognition, but a well-trained shinobi would not have betrayed one.  A well-trained shinobi would have permitted the enemy-nin to go on believing he had evaded detection, right up until the moment he--

“Why don’t you come out now, Shikamaru?” Neji gently spoke as his eyes returned to lock with the Nara’s once more.

Stunned by those pale, piercing irises, it took a moment for the fact that Neji had spoken his name to even register.

_This is all Asuma-sensei’s fault._

Shikamaru released his shadow-cloaking jutsu, revealing himself, and stood. He looked around, expecting others to reveal themselves as well, but saw no one.  The only chakra he could detect other than his own was Neji’s.

Where was Neji’s team?  Where was Asuma-sensei?  What was happening?

“You don’t need to worry Shikamaru.  Everything’s all right.”  He sensed the Nara’s apprehension and smiled at the man reassuringly.  “Why don’t you come inside with me?”

Shikamaru still didn’t understand.  “I need to find Asuma-sensei”, he responded.  He didn’t entirely trust the situation.  Had he become ensnared by a clever  _henge?_ Was  _he_ , in fact, a target in imminent danger?

Neji bit his lip, a gesture that was not lost on the man watching him through the fence.  “Asuma-sensei isn’t here.  There’s no one here now but us.”

There was hope in the eyes that watched Shikamaru.  His brows furrowed.  “I don’t understand.”

“Please come inside.  I promise I’ll explain everything.”

Shikamaru’s trip to the bathing station was informative; there was evidence of those whom the Nara had seen when he arrived, evidence suggesting efforts being abruptly abandoned.  He had to admit he hadn’t seen or heard anything in the short time he’d been there to indicate danger: no gut instincts, no errant scent on the wind, no unnatural stillness.

Just a naked, smiling Neji Hyuuga and a surprise invitation to join him in the spring.

Shikamaru prepared himself thoroughly in honor of the occasion.  Perhaps a little too thoroughly, but then he wanted to be ready for anything.  He’d gone over the many possibilities in his mind.  Of course it could be a trap.  But he was a shinobi; in his hyper-analytical mind,  _anything_  could be a trap.

So he decided to risk it.  Because if this  _wasn’t_  a trap, then the world as he knew it would soon narrow to the size of a hot spring, where six feet and one inch of the most perfect man Shikamaru had ever known languished in wait for him. 

And he was not about to pass that up.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Shikamaru walked casually toward the spring, anxious but vigilant, and completely uncovered. He was dripping wet and his loose hair hung in heavy dark waves to his shoulders.  He stepped through the opening of the surrounding fence and stood there, waiting. 

Neji assessed every millimeter of the man with enthusiasm.  Shikamaru was beautiful.  And now, he had him all to himself.

Their eyes met, and Neji smiled.  Shikamaru was stunned anew.  The man was simply riveting.

It was Neji who spoke first.  “I was beginning to think you had declined my invitation.”

“You promised me an explanation.”

“Indeed I did.”

Shikamaru walked up to the spring and sat down on the edge, his legs slightly parted, allowing his feet to dangle in the steaming water.  It felt good and without being conscious of it, he wiggled his toes in the water.

Neji waited for him to come into the water, but it soon became obvious that he wasn’t going to.

“Why won’t you come inside?” he asked.

“I’m working up to it”, was the Nara’s response.

Neji was already well-aware that there could be any number of reasons for Shikamaru’s reluctance to enter the spring.  So he chose not to try to address any of them.  Instead he walked boldly through the water right up to where the younger man sat.  “May I?” he asked.

To Shikamaru, it looked as if Neji were gliding.  The Hyuuga seemed determined; it was in his eyes, and in the tone of his voice when he spoke.

Shikamaru patted the spot next to him.  “Be my guest”, he entreated.

In a flash, Neji’s hands rose from the water, attached themselves to each of Shikamaru’s knees and pushed them apart.  As a gasp escaped the Nara’s throat, Neji moved forward into the space between them.

“That’s better”, he spoke in a voice that was more like a purr.

Shikamaru gulped.  If this was a trick, if this was a  _henge_ , then it was a damn good one, because his body was thoroughly convinced and reacting quite obviously to Neji’s efforts.

He was being seduced. 

By a man, which was a whole other adventure from being seduced by a woman.

And by Neji fucking Hyuuga, who easily resembled a mythical sea creature.  Shikamaru tried to stay calm but it wasn’t easy when Neji was running an index finger back and forth over the length of his thighs.

Eyes gleaming with mischief roamed the Nara from his awakened crotch up along his torso to finally look at his face.  “Tell me what you’re thinking”, he entreated in that sexy purr as he shifted his hands to rest on the tactician’s hips.

 _Damn that voice of yours_.  It was all the Nara could do not to wrap his legs around the man standing between them and have his way with him.

Shikamaru closed his eyes in a desperate attempt to gather what remained of his bearings.  He needed to stay focused for as long as possible; there was still at least one question that demanded an answer.

“I’m thinking I’ve got the what of this figured out”, he announced, opening his eyes again.

Warm hands slid around and flattened on Shikamaru’s back.  “Explain.”

Shikamaru took a deep breath.  “Well, when I first spotted you I thought you might be here on a mission.  But then you invited me to join you and I had to second-guess that theory.  I figure your plan involved using a public onsen because your clan would never suspect you of going to one.  You asked Asuma-sensei for help thinking it was the most reliable way to get me here.  Then, in order to provide the privacy you needed, Asuma used his name to influence the attendants to send away everyone else who was here when we arrived – quietly, so I wouldn’t catch on. Once they were gone, he made himself scarce as well, and now, here we are.”

Shikamaru was still on his game even when faced with temptation.  Neji found it challenging, which got him even more aroused.  He leaned in, aligning his face with the juncture of the Nara’s neck and shoulder.  “You have figured out the what.  And the how”, he breathed against the man’s ear.  His left hand began to roam, but Shikamaru stayed it with one of his own.

“Now tell me the why”, the Nara requested.

Neji pulled back.  His hands were repositioned on Shikamaru’s knees and they were eye-to-eye once more.

“I had a conversation with Hinata recently, where we talked about many things.  Invariably, the subject of the future made its way into the discussion.

It isn’t something I think much about.  We are shinobi, after all.  The future comes a split second at a time for those like us.  Hinata chided me for always waiting for that final split second to come and never making the best of the here and now.

She asked me what I wanted for my life, and told me that being a member of the branch family doesn’t mean that everything I want has to be off-limits to me.

Then she offered her support, but I was already ahead of her by then.  I thanked her for her advice and now”, he concluded, smiling at the man in front of him, “here we are.”

Shikamaru smiled back, but there was still confusion in his expression.

“It’s my birthday today, Shikamaru”, he explained.  “And when Hinata asked me what I wanted, time alone with you was the first thing I thought of.  I didn’t know if there was someone special in your life, or if you’d grant my request if there wasn’t, so I consulted your sensei for advice.  He assured me I had a green light, so together, we hatched this plan.  Officially, the Hokage sent me on an escort mission for the day.”

The Nara bit his lip.  Today was Neji’s birthday, and  _he_  was the gift, out of all the things the Hyuuga could have had... how had he come to be so lucky?

“Why me?” he couldn’t help but ask.

The mischief was back in Neji’s eyes then. He ran his hands up the length of the Nara’s thighs again. “I plan to spend the evening answering that question, if you will indulge me.”

 _Wow_.  It was going to take the entire evening?  Shikamaru’s brows rose.  He couldn’t wait! Neji’s hands felt good on him and frankly, he was wound up tighter than a drum from so much restraint.  The Hyuuga had gone through all this trouble just to be with him.  Shikamaru intended to make it worth his effort.  And who knew?  It might become the start of something… unique.

“I think I can accommodate that”, the Nara decided.  He reached out then, gently catching Neji’s face with his hands as he leaned in to place a soft kiss on his lips.  Neji tasted good, clean and sweet.  “Happy birthday”, he said before kissing him again.


End file.
